Maddy Harradence, Branch Secretary
Public sector mental health members – if all you want for Christmas is your enterprise agreement finalised, your wish is granted: the ballot to approve the 2024-2028 Victorian Public Mental Health Services EBA will open on 19 December and close on 23 December.
It has taken too long. You know it. I know it. Members are right to feel frustrated but unfortunately much of the process is not within ANMF’s control.
The public mental health services EBA has five sections that collectively cover all Victorian mental health workers in the public system, not just nurses. ANMF can only negotiate the sections relevant to our nursing members. The other sections must be agreed and endorsed by the negotiating representatives for the relevant staff, and the full EBA cannot be finalised until all parties have reached agreement.
It’s also important to remember that even when it seems like nothing is happening, a lot is actually happening in the background. A lot of discussions regarding agreed in principle clauses and drafting, and legal input.
But come Christmas, we will hopefully have a positive ballot outcome and mental health members can expect their improved pay and entitlements, including backpay to 20 May 2025, seven days after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) approves the agreement.
Public sector general pay rise and ratios
Speaking of improved pay, public sector general members: check your payslips carefully over the next week or two to make sure you receive your second 2025 pay rise, due in the first full pay period on or after 29 November. This will be the fourth pay rise of the 2024-2028 EBA.
The combined total wage increase for this year is between 3 per cent and 4.23 per cent (compounded), depending on classification.
This instalment is the second tranche of gender equity uplift – for all classifications except RN/RM grade 2 year 1, who received the full 17.5 per cent gender equity uplift in 2024 to ensure their wages kept ahead of the new federal minimum award rate.
All nurses and midwives in the Victorian public sector will receive a 28.4 per cent (compounded) wage increase by the end of the current four-year agreement.
Many in the public sector should also be seeing the next tranche of improved ratios being implemented, as per the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Act 2025, with employers required to have achieved 75 percent compliance with the new ratios by 1 December 2025.
ANMF encourages you to closely monitor how the new ratios are being implemented in your workplace, if applicable, and to contact us ASAP if implementation is not occurring as required.
Psychological health regulations
Also commencing 1 December are Victoria’s new psychological health regulations.
We have been waiting for a number of years for these regulations in Victoria. We were the first state to announce we were implementing psychological health, as a result of union advocacy in this space, so it is critical that these regulations have now come to fruition.
The Regulations clarify legal responsibilities on employers in regard to eliminating or mitigating gendered violence, sexual harassment, bullying, work-related fatigue and other psychosocial risks.
Congratulations, cohealth members
I want to congratulate members at cohealth and the inner-Melbourne communities they care for. Their advocacy and commitment to ensuring these vital services stay open has resulted in the Albanese federal government agreeing to $1.5 million interim funding to keep cohealth clinics open in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington, at least until to 31 July 2026.
When the news first broke that cohealth was planning to close these unique services, ANMF members raised the issue directly with Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and then engaged intensively with both state and federal government representatives to protect our cohealth members and ensure ongoing and sustainable funding for this unique and important model of care.
So this is positive news, and I look forward to a long-term solution so nurses and healthcare workers at these services can continue to deliver care to some of Victoria’s most vulnerable community members.
Last but note least, ANMF has continued to advocate strongly for additional graduate places for the 2026 nursing and midwifery cohort. We have called on the government to step in and fund additional places for graduate nurses and midwives and are hopeful of positive announcements in the coming weeks.
